The study of temperature-salinity relationships provides 

 a convenient method for determining water mass character- 

 istics and origin. Temperature-salinity diagrams, therefore, 

 were plotted for all stations in the Bering Sea except those in 

 Norton Sound (see fig. 26). These stations in Norton Sound, 

 together with those in Kotzebue Sound, are dealt with later. 

 Also in figure 26 is the T-S relationship for the upper layers 

 of the subarctic water found to the south of the Aleutians, as 

 given by the upper 100 meters of Carnegie Station 120 (47°02' N, 

 166°20' E). The T-S relationships at NEREUS stations Nl, N2, 

 and N3 are similar to those at the Carnegie station but with 

 lower salinity. The shape of the T-S relationship remains 

 about the same, but the average salinity decreases to the 

 north (stations N4, N5, N6, N7) until the region between St. 

 Lawrence Island and Bering Strait is reached. Here the water 

 has a higher salinity because of the mixing with the more 

 saline water which apparently flows northward along a line to 

 the west of the line of the NEREUS stations. * 



Bering Strait. Five hydrographic stations were occupied 

 across the eastern half of the Bering Strait. Very large hori- 

 zontal gradients of the physical variables were encountered 

 here, the most extreme gradients occurring along the Alaskan 

 side of the strait. In this location, a surface temperature 

 drop of 10 degrees F in 30 miles was observed; 8 degrees of 

 this change occurred in the 10 miles between the two stations 

 nearest the Alaskan coast. The corresponding salinity change 

 is 2.5 parts per thousand. 



Vertical cross sections of temperature and salinity have 

 been constructed for the line of five stations across the eastern 

 part of the Bering Strait (section D, fig. 13). The temperature 

 section (fig. 27) shows the change from cold water on the 

 western side of the section to relatively warm water near 

 the Alaskan coast at all depths. The warm water overruns 

 the cold water in the middle of the section, producing fairly 

 large vertical variations in the temperature. The salinity 

 section (fig. 28) shows the decrease in salinity from west 

 to east. The greatest horizontal change at all depths occurs 

 between the two stations nearest the Alaskan coast. This 

 low-salinity water is apparently related to runoff from Alaskan 

 rivers. This distribution of mass must be associated with a 

 relatively strong current running northward through Bering 

 Strait. 



Typical temperature-depth and salinity-depth traces in 

 the Bering Strait are plotted in figure 29. The locations of 

 the observations A, B, and C progress from west to east 

 across the strait and are shown on the inset chart. 



